Lack of staff, defunct boats make Coastal Security Police ineffective in Andhra Pradesh

Mid-sea clash between fishermen communities exposed its inadequacies, say experts

A few days ago, five fishing boats belonging to two fishing communities were torched in the sea, barely about 100 metres from the coast, by the members of the communities after they clashed over the use of ring seines or ring nets, near Vasavanipalem, a fishing hamlet by the coast near the city.

Eight persons from the communities were injured in the clash and the incident shook the peaceful fabric of the city.

City Police, Coastal Security Police (CSP) and the Indian Coast Guard had to move into action to resolve the issue. But the question that arises after the incident is whether the damage could have been minimised, and many senior police officers say that its intensity and scale of rioting could have been minimised, if the CSP was empowered to its desired vision.